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STEPHEN MARTYN WELCH - 'The Sitting' Exhibition
18 December 2008 to 1 Feb 2009 at Shed 11 Wellington

[Further biographical details can be reached from Broken Nose, Glass Eye]

Absolute familiarity with his subjects is central to the large scale portraits of Auckland painter Stephen Martyn Welch whose exhibition “The Sitting” shows at the summer exhibition of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery in Wellington from December 18 to 31 January 2009. Over 35 of his extreme close-up portraits will be on display in Shed 11 on Wellington Waterfront in conjunction with TVNZ6 and Auckland’s SOCA Gallery.

“The Sitting” comprises portraits of a number of well known New Zealand faces from television and the arts, including Kevin Milne, Jacob Rajan, Lucy Lawless, Ian Mune and Tiki Taane. Welch says that painting celebrities can present a unique set of problems which he has to overcome. “I don’t like painting a facade,” he says. “Celebrity sitters sometimes switch straight into character, emphasising the public rather than the personal. “I need to follow my instinct with each individual to find their core.” Welch’s approach visualizes the finished work first, before working out how to ‘build’ the portrait.

Natural expression and alternating stylistic approaches depending on each subject, characterise Welch’s portraits which consistently present a ‘warts and all’ image. “My engine is always running” he says. “I ask my subjects to tell me quite mundane details of their lives to relax them and enable me to capture the essence of their personality”. “The Sitting” also refers to his series of 18 interview/portraits developed for television and shown on TVNZ6, in which the connection between painter and subject work towards the intimately- worked result Welch requires. The series can be viewed on TVNZ’s ondemand website.

A self- taught painter, he is now regarded as one of New Zealand’s most promising portraitists. He has twice been a finalist in the prestigious Adam Portrait Awards, and is one of Auckland SOCA Gallery’s most highly regarded artists who features in Richard Wolfe’s new book “New Zealand Portraits.”

[webmaster's note: Stephen Martyn Welch's painting entitled 'Broken nose, glass eye' appears in our on-line gallery and is used as part of the NZPG website logo on each page at top right.]

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See the opening
The Sitting opened at the NZ Portrait Gallery, Shed 11, Wellington Waterfront, December 17 - Februaryt 1, 10.30am - 4.30pm daily - entry free

Further information: Elizabeth Alley NZ Portrait Gallery Communications:

(New Zealand 064) ((0)4) 970 8341